April 17, 2026 • 9 mins
We watched the tragic story of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette in the FX series “Love Story.” But while the love story of John’s parents, JFK Sr. and Jackie Kennedy, had major differences, it also had some striking similarities.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
A lot of us watched the JFK Jor Carolyn Bissett
Love Story series on f X and Hulu, so I
thought we'd take a peek at the relationship between John
Junior's parents, JFK Senior and Jackie Oh as she was
later called. Some major differences and some striking similarities. I'm
Patty Steele. What was going on behind those exquisite smiles?
(00:23):
That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. If
you watch the JFK Junior Carolyn Bissett series called Love
Story on FX and Hulu, you got a little bit
of a dramatized look at their relationship to absolutely gorgeous
people deposited into a difficult and ultimately tragic life. Well,
(00:46):
John was born into that life, and it seemed to
be a continuation of the life his parents had lived, money, power, fame,
and beauty in greater amounts than seems possible, all winding
up in tragedy. Once I've finished all nine episodes, I
wanted to take a look back at his parents' story
to maybe get a handle on where he came from
(01:06):
and also how the women in JFK and JFK Junior's
lives saw their roles. JFK came from a wealthy Boston family.
His father, Joe, made a bundle in banking and in
liquor imports and sales in the run up to the
end of Prohibition. His father was adamant that his sons
not just be successful, but be great. He saw himself
(01:28):
as a kingmaker. His goal was the White House, especially
for his oldest son, Joe Junior. But Joe, a pilot
for the Navy, was killed in World War Two, so
Joe Senior focused his political thirst for power on John.
After Harvard and a heroic stint in the Navy during
the war, John came home and started his political career,
(01:50):
first as a congressman, then a Senator, and of course,
finally as President of the United States. His father made
it clear to him that he needed a pretty perfect
wife to complete the picture voters in the nineteen fifties expected.
That's when Jacqueline Bouvier stepped onto the scene. She came
from a wealthy but a little chaotic family. Her father
(02:11):
was a playboy and an alcoholic, and eventually her parents divorced. Meantime,
Jackie went to high end boarding schools, Vassar College and
finally graduated from George Washington University. She was beautiful, cultured,
cool and really smart, speaking fluent French, Spanish and Italian,
and she was a great equestrian. After two years of
(02:34):
seeing one another, John and Jackie got engaged in May
of nineteen fifty three. JFK popped the question with an
almost three carrot ring, which his father had chosen for them.
And that's not all. As plans for the wedding got underway,
Joe Kennedy continued his role as kingmaker. Jackie and her
family as well as jack wanted a simple, private wedding,
(02:56):
kind of like JFK. Junior and Carolyn Right, the Kennedys
wanted pure glitz. Jack was pressured by his father to
use the event to his political advantage. He provided long
lists of people he wanted to get invites to the wedding,
including almost the entire Senate and every Democratic leader in
New England. And so they married on September twelfth, nineteen
(03:19):
fifty three, in Newport, Rhode Island. Their simple wedding was
an extravaganza, with twelve hundred guests at the reception. He
was thirty six years old and Jackie was just twenty four.
From the beginning, cracks in the perfect picture were evident.
Jack's health was fragile. He was in constant pain under
(03:39):
heavy medication, yet a body that just didn't match the
image he projected. And then there were the other women,
which we'll get to. Jackie got pregnant in nineteen fifty six,
but went into early labor. The little girl, Arabella, was stillborn,
but Jack wasn't there to support his wife, who was devastated. Instead,
(04:00):
he was yachting in the Mediterranean, apparently with his mistress.
He heard the news three days later, and The Washington
Post reported that he was reluctant to head home quickly
to his devastated wife because he didn't see any reason
to rush back since the baby was already lost. The
Kennedys would go on to have two more children before
the White House Years, Carolyn in nineteen fifty seven and
(04:23):
John Junior in nineteen sixty, then the Camelot Years. As
First Lady, Jackie became one of the most recognized women
on earth, but visibility isn't the same thing as being known.
She moved through the White House like a curator of beauty,
restoring rooms hosting artists, elevating culture. She spoke softly, dressed perfectly,
(04:45):
but she revealed almost nothing. She did wow foreign leaders,
that's for sure. Meantime, behind the scenes, her husband lived
with a bit of a reckless appetite. The gap between
their public unity and private distance kept widening. People noticed,
the press noticed, but nobody talked about it, because protecting
the presidency back then meant protecting the illusion. Jackie knew.
(05:09):
She wrote to her husband, saying, you are an atypical husband,
increasingly so in one way or another every year since
we've been married. So you mustn't be surprised to have
an atypical wife. Each of us would have been so
lonely with the normal kind. I can't write down what
I feel for you, but I will show you when
I'm with you, and I think you must know. So
(05:30):
she loved him, but she also understood his shortcomings as
a husband. JFK's relationships outside the marriage weren't occasional. They
were habitual. Some were fleeting. In fact, while showing a
journalist around the White House, Jackie actually pointed out one
of Jack's secretaries and commented, in that cultured voice, and
there's the woman that my husband is supposed to be
(05:51):
sleeping with now, but some of his relationships were dangerously visible,
notably Marilyn Monroe. Their connection is part of a mayor
and pop history blurred lines between celebrity, power and secrecy.
For Jackie, this wasn't gossip, it was daily life, and
yet she stayed. She made her disapproval clear, but mostly
(06:13):
she did it silently. While Jack and much of his
family were at Madison Square Garden watching Maryland in a
sea through dressing happy birthday, mister President, Jackie chose to
not be there and to spend that day horseback riding
in Virginia. So it turns out that birthday performance made
the Marylynd relationship for Jack too dangerous, even for a
(06:34):
guy that thrived on drama. It was the last time
Jack and Marilyn ever saw one another, so why did
Jackie put up with it? She understood the divorce would
have derailed everything, his presidency, her position, their legacy together,
so she adapted. She withdrew emotionally and controlled what she could.
In a strange way, her silence became kind of its
(06:56):
own form of power. In nineteen sixty three, the image
of count was at its peak, while there was a
lot of personal and political instability. Jack and Jackie both
knew that they needed a marriage that functioned like a partnership.
It was as much about a marketing performance as anything.
Then came Dallas, November twenty second, nineteen sixty three. In
(07:18):
the blink of an eye, the performance ended. JFK was gone.
Jackie suddenly was no longer playing a role. She had
a mission. In the middle of shock and grief. She
took control of the narrative, the imagery, the funeral, the symbolism.
She insisted on a procession that echoed the funeral of
Abraham Lincoln. But unlike Mary Todd Lincoln, who collapsed and
(07:41):
didn't even a tender husband's funeral, Jackie stood completely composed
with Carolyn and two year old JFK Junior by her side,
And then she gave one interview. In it, she introduced
a powerful idea. She spoke of Jack's love for the
popular Broadway show Camelot. She compared his administration to Camelot.
(08:02):
She said his favorite line from the show was don't
ever let it be forgot that once there was a
spot for one brief, shining moment that was Camelot. She
told the reporter there will be great presidents again, but
there will never be another Camelot, that this presidency had
been a brief, shining moment. Jackie really smoothed over the
(08:23):
contradictions and erased the darker edges. With this imagery, she
rewrote JFK and marketing was everything. She remembered their drive
through Dallas, Texas in the open top limo on November
twenty second, nineteen sixty three. The sun was bright and
she put on sunglasses, but JFK didn't want any part
(08:43):
of her perfect face covered for the crowds who were
lining the streets to see them. He leaned over and
he said, take off the glasses, Jackie. Those were his
final words to her before he was assassinated. I hope
you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a
review and follow or subscribe for free to get new
episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if
(09:06):
you have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook,
It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm
Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks.
The Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer
(09:29):
is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new
episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out
to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram
at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.
Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the
pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.
A lot of us watched the JFK Jor Carolyn Bissett
Love Story series on f X and Hulu, so I
thought we'd take a peek at the relationship between John
Junior's parents, JFK Senior and Jackie Oh as she was
later called. Some major differences and some striking similarities. I'm
Patty Steele. What was going on behind those exquisite smiles?
(00:23):
That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. If
you watch the JFK Junior Carolyn Bissett series called Love
Story on FX and Hulu, you got a little bit
of a dramatized look at their relationship to absolutely gorgeous
people deposited into a difficult and ultimately tragic life. Well,
(00:46):
John was born into that life, and it seemed to
be a continuation of the life his parents had lived, money, power, fame,
and beauty in greater amounts than seems possible, all winding
up in tragedy. Once I've finished all nine episodes, I
wanted to take a look back at his parents' story
to maybe get a handle on where he came from
(01:06):
and also how the women in JFK and JFK Junior's
lives saw their roles. JFK came from a wealthy Boston family.
His father, Joe, made a bundle in banking and in
liquor imports and sales in the run up to the
end of Prohibition. His father was adamant that his sons
not just be successful, but be great. He saw himself
(01:28):
as a kingmaker. His goal was the White House, especially
for his oldest son, Joe Junior. But Joe, a pilot
for the Navy, was killed in World War Two, so
Joe Senior focused his political thirst for power on John.
After Harvard and a heroic stint in the Navy during
the war, John came home and started his political career,
(01:50):
first as a congressman, then a Senator, and of course,
finally as President of the United States. His father made
it clear to him that he needed a pretty perfect
wife to complete the picture voters in the nineteen fifties expected.
That's when Jacqueline Bouvier stepped onto the scene. She came
from a wealthy but a little chaotic family. Her father
(02:11):
was a playboy and an alcoholic, and eventually her parents divorced. Meantime,
Jackie went to high end boarding schools, Vassar College and
finally graduated from George Washington University. She was beautiful, cultured,
cool and really smart, speaking fluent French, Spanish and Italian,
and she was a great equestrian. After two years of
(02:34):
seeing one another, John and Jackie got engaged in May
of nineteen fifty three. JFK popped the question with an
almost three carrot ring, which his father had chosen for them.
And that's not all. As plans for the wedding got underway,
Joe Kennedy continued his role as kingmaker. Jackie and her
family as well as jack wanted a simple, private wedding,
(02:56):
kind of like JFK. Junior and Carolyn Right, the Kennedys
wanted pure glitz. Jack was pressured by his father to
use the event to his political advantage. He provided long
lists of people he wanted to get invites to the wedding,
including almost the entire Senate and every Democratic leader in
New England. And so they married on September twelfth, nineteen
(03:19):
fifty three, in Newport, Rhode Island. Their simple wedding was
an extravaganza, with twelve hundred guests at the reception. He
was thirty six years old and Jackie was just twenty four.
From the beginning, cracks in the perfect picture were evident.
Jack's health was fragile. He was in constant pain under
(03:39):
heavy medication, yet a body that just didn't match the
image he projected. And then there were the other women,
which we'll get to. Jackie got pregnant in nineteen fifty six,
but went into early labor. The little girl, Arabella, was stillborn,
but Jack wasn't there to support his wife, who was devastated. Instead,
(04:00):
he was yachting in the Mediterranean, apparently with his mistress.
He heard the news three days later, and The Washington
Post reported that he was reluctant to head home quickly
to his devastated wife because he didn't see any reason
to rush back since the baby was already lost. The
Kennedys would go on to have two more children before
the White House Years, Carolyn in nineteen fifty seven and
(04:23):
John Junior in nineteen sixty, then the Camelot Years. As
First Lady, Jackie became one of the most recognized women
on earth, but visibility isn't the same thing as being known.
She moved through the White House like a curator of beauty,
restoring rooms hosting artists, elevating culture. She spoke softly, dressed perfectly,
(04:45):
but she revealed almost nothing. She did wow foreign leaders,
that's for sure. Meantime, behind the scenes, her husband lived
with a bit of a reckless appetite. The gap between
their public unity and private distance kept widening. People noticed,
the press noticed, but nobody talked about it, because protecting
the presidency back then meant protecting the illusion. Jackie knew.
(05:09):
She wrote to her husband, saying, you are an atypical husband,
increasingly so in one way or another every year since
we've been married. So you mustn't be surprised to have
an atypical wife. Each of us would have been so
lonely with the normal kind. I can't write down what
I feel for you, but I will show you when
I'm with you, and I think you must know. So
(05:30):
she loved him, but she also understood his shortcomings as
a husband. JFK's relationships outside the marriage weren't occasional. They
were habitual. Some were fleeting. In fact, while showing a
journalist around the White House, Jackie actually pointed out one
of Jack's secretaries and commented, in that cultured voice, and
there's the woman that my husband is supposed to be
(05:51):
sleeping with now, but some of his relationships were dangerously visible,
notably Marilyn Monroe. Their connection is part of a mayor
and pop history blurred lines between celebrity, power and secrecy.
For Jackie, this wasn't gossip, it was daily life, and
yet she stayed. She made her disapproval clear, but mostly
(06:13):
she did it silently. While Jack and much of his
family were at Madison Square Garden watching Maryland in a
sea through dressing happy birthday, mister President, Jackie chose to
not be there and to spend that day horseback riding
in Virginia. So it turns out that birthday performance made
the Marylynd relationship for Jack too dangerous, even for a
(06:34):
guy that thrived on drama. It was the last time
Jack and Marilyn ever saw one another, so why did
Jackie put up with it? She understood the divorce would
have derailed everything, his presidency, her position, their legacy together,
so she adapted. She withdrew emotionally and controlled what she could.
In a strange way, her silence became kind of its
(06:56):
own form of power. In nineteen sixty three, the image
of count was at its peak, while there was a
lot of personal and political instability. Jack and Jackie both
knew that they needed a marriage that functioned like a partnership.
It was as much about a marketing performance as anything.
Then came Dallas, November twenty second, nineteen sixty three. In
(07:18):
the blink of an eye, the performance ended. JFK was gone.
Jackie suddenly was no longer playing a role. She had
a mission. In the middle of shock and grief. She
took control of the narrative, the imagery, the funeral, the symbolism.
She insisted on a procession that echoed the funeral of
Abraham Lincoln. But unlike Mary Todd Lincoln, who collapsed and
(07:41):
didn't even a tender husband's funeral, Jackie stood completely composed
with Carolyn and two year old JFK Junior by her side,
And then she gave one interview. In it, she introduced
a powerful idea. She spoke of Jack's love for the
popular Broadway show Camelot. She compared his administration to Camelot.
(08:02):
She said his favorite line from the show was don't
ever let it be forgot that once there was a
spot for one brief, shining moment that was Camelot. She
told the reporter there will be great presidents again, but
there will never be another Camelot, that this presidency had
been a brief, shining moment. Jackie really smoothed over the
(08:23):
contradictions and erased the darker edges. With this imagery, she
rewrote JFK and marketing was everything. She remembered their drive
through Dallas, Texas in the open top limo on November
twenty second, nineteen sixty three. The sun was bright and
she put on sunglasses, but JFK didn't want any part
(08:43):
of her perfect face covered for the crowds who were
lining the streets to see them. He leaned over and
he said, take off the glasses, Jackie. Those were his
final words to her before he was assassinated. I hope
you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a
review and follow or subscribe for free to get new
episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if
(09:06):
you have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook,
It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm
Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks.
The Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer
(09:29):
is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new
episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out
to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram
at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.
Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the
pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.
Host
Patty Steele
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